S&S 2.2

Respond to the following question in your lab notebook:

I can create a food web that shows the transfer of chemical energy within an ecosystem, and I understand that not all energy makes it to the next level.

Food chain- a linear representation of how food is transferred from one organism to another.

Food web- A web that shows all of the feeding relationships within an ecosystem.

Trophic Level- feeding levels within an ecosystem- the producers are in the first trophic level.

Law of Conservation of Energy- Energy cannot be lost because it cannot created or destroyed.

Calories- a measure of the amount of energy stored in food.

Every organism, dead or alive is a potential source of food for other organisms

Used to show how energy is transferred, via food, from producers to primary consumers, from primary to secondary consumers, and so on

In nature, many consumers feed on both producers and other consumers, because of this, a Food Chain may not adequately describe all the pathways of energy transfer.

A diagram that illustrates the transfer of chemical energy within an ecosystem

Based upon its position in the Food Web, each member of an ecosystem can be assigned to a Trophic Level

Producers [plants and plankton]

Primary Consumers [usually herbivores]

Secondary and tertiary consumers [carnivores and omnivores]

Whenever one organism eats another, chemical energy is transferred to a higher trophic level

Some energy is not used by the consumer; some is transformed into heat, some remains in the food not eaten

The amount of energy stored in food is measured in CALORIES

Draw a Food Web, showing energy transfer among:Trout GullsHumans CatfishMinnows BacteriaInsects PhytoplanktonHerbivorous zooplanktonCarnivorous zooplankton

1. Rank the organisms in your Food Web from most abundant in the ecosystem to least abundant in the ecosystem. Explain how you determined your rankings.

2. When 1 organism eats another, not all of the energy stored in the food gets transferred to the consumer. What happens to the energy that is “lost” during each transfer?

3. In 1 m3 of a typical open ocean ecosystem, phytoplankton can generate 1,600,000 Calories of chemical energy per year. Assume there is an 80% “loss” of usable energy during transfers from one trophic level to another. Make a Data Table AND Graph showing energy available at each of the first 5 Trophic Levels.

Trophic Level Available Energy [Calories]

1st 1,600,000

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

TITLE?

Manipulated Variable

Responding Variable

TITLE?

4. How many more humans could be fed if everyone ate from the second trophic level rather than the fifth. Is this a reasonable possibility? EXPLAIN.